
The Socialist 29 May 2013
767

Evict this millionaires' government
Campaign to stop bedroom tax evictions!
No to terrorism! No to racism! No to war!
Even the cutters say cuts aren't working!
This is what's 'not to like' about Free Schools, Boris
Nasty party exposed by equal marriage bill
Stop the NHS privatisation rip-off
Rotten greedy banks still threaten crisis
PCS conference sends defiant message to the government
PCS Land Registry delegates commit to action
Strike action needed to save Royal Mail
Wales TUC conference - a missed opportunity
No future with Future Directions
Haringey TUSC: trade unions and communities prepare for 2014
'Brilliant' South West conference sees record turnout
Fund the fightback in the SP collectathon
Boosting South West Wales paper sales
Socialist Party youth organisers meeting Sunday 30 June, 10.30am-4.30pm, London
Oppose Kazakhstan regime's latest campaign clampdown
South Africa: Eye-witness to the developing struggle
Riots expose inequality in Sweden
Sri Lanka: Working class beginning to move forward
Salford Socialist Students help lead fightback against job and course cuts
London students fight union closure plan
PO Box 1398, Enfield EN1 9GT
020 8988 8777

Link to this page: https://secure.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/767/16792
![]() | |||
Home | The Socialist 29 May 2013 | Join the Socialist Party
Subscribe | Donate | PDF | ebook
Nasty party exposed by equal marriage bill
Michael Johnson
When MPs decided to debate amendments to the Con-Dems' 'gay marriage' bill, most people probably braced themselves for a bit of homophobia disguised as concern over religion.
And that was there: Conservative MP David Burrows said, essentially, religious schools should be able to teach that gay marriage is wrong.
Others made the typical but still infuriating argument that allowing LGB people to marry would be marginalising and discriminating against those who think that LGB marriage is an 'equality too far'. The 95% of LGBT youth who regularly experience discrimination seem to be less deserving of consideration!
Things escalated when another Tory MP Gerald Howarth criticised an apparent 'aggressive homosexual community' for pushing things so that straight people now have fewer rights than LGBT people.
Obviously, the 'aggressive homosexual' controlled media has been hushing up gangs of LGBT people beating up straight people for seeming straight...
Lord Tebbit said the Conservative Party had 'fucked up' and posed such brain teasers as: "When we have a queen who is a lesbian and she marries another lady and then decides she would like to have a child and someone donates sperm and she gives birth to a child, is that child heir to the throne?" and whether the bill would mean he could marry his son to allow him to avoid paying inheritance tax!
But the arguments against - and wrecking amendments such as 'opt out' clauses - failed spectacularly.
Labour answered Cameron's eleventh hour plea and voted against the amendments. So marriage equality took a small step forward.
Majority support
Cameron has pushed this bill to try to make the Tories look progressive. Marriage equality is supported by the large majority of the UK, despite what some church leaders have presented.
Marriage equality is an important step forward, but this is not the end of the struggle: the marriage bill as it stands is not perfect, especially for trans people due to the wording around gender and the implications towards the status of a marriage or civil partnership if someone transitions.
But many LGB people, due to the attacks and cuts introduced by the government such as increasing unemployment, low pay, and lack of housing, will have a low quality of life after marriage.
The LGBT community must unite with the other oppressed sections of society: women, immigrants, and the working class as a whole; to fight for true marriage equality, including civil partnerships for any consenting couple regardless of gender or homophobic prejudice.
This movement must also resist attacks affecting the working class as a whole, fighting not just for a few small gains over time but for a true transformation in society.
In this issue
Scrap the Bedroom tax
Evict this millionaires' government
Campaign to stop bedroom tax evictions!
Socialist Party editorial
No to terrorism! No to racism! No to war!
Socialist Party news and analysis
Even the cutters say cuts aren't working!
This is what's 'not to like' about Free Schools, Boris
Nasty party exposed by equal marriage bill
Stop the NHS privatisation rip-off
Socialist Party review
Rotten greedy banks still threaten crisis
Socialist Party workplace news
PCS conference sends defiant message to the government
PCS Land Registry delegates commit to action
Strike action needed to save Royal Mail
Wales TUC conference - a missed opportunity
No future with Future Directions
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Haringey TUSC: trade unions and communities prepare for 2014
'Brilliant' South West conference sees record turnout
Fund the fightback in the SP collectathon
Boosting South West Wales paper sales
Socialist Party youth organisers meeting Sunday 30 June, 10.30am-4.30pm, London
International socialist news and analysis
Oppose Kazakhstan regime's latest campaign clampdown
South Africa: Eye-witness to the developing struggle
Riots expose inequality in Sweden
Sri Lanka: Working class beginning to move forward
Socialist Students
Salford Socialist Students help lead fightback against job and course cuts
London students fight union closure plan
Related links:
Southwest London Socialist Party: The fight for LGBT rights
Bristol Socialist Party: Defend LGBT+ rights
London's May elections: Tories and Labour's Khan both vying to slash public services
USA in crisis - the need for a socialist alternative
The Tory blame game: scapegoating the working class - 100% pay for all now
Bosses earn workers' annual wage in three days
Stonewall riots' legacy shows need for socialist struggle to win LGBT+ liberation
30 years on from Section 28: the legacy of fighting LGBT+ attacks must continue
Support for Socialist Party campaigns at biggest ever Leeds Pride
Why I joined the Socialist Party: Tories and Blairites only care about corporate greed
TV review: The Trial of Christine Keeler
Cardiff community fights nursery closure: Council must step in